From Past to Present
by MissTentenChan
Summary: Tenten's forgotten past has just made a painful entrance into her present bringing mysteries to team Gai. Future pairings.
1. Fight

Tenten had always grown up alone. She never knew siblings or parents. She was born in a Konoha hospital under a nameless woman and was never retrieved by loving arms into a safe home. The only connection she had was her birth certificate, only a faded and work piece of paper, and even it held no information on her parents. Her name was scrawled on it in a feminine handwriting that the nurses told Tenten, belonged to her mother.

The weapons mistress used to feel better when her friends had family affairs to attend to because she knew when she went home, she'd find only an empty apartment. Tenten soon learned that she had a family with her friends. They loved her, helped her, and comforted her; they had arguments, but were always forgiven. Tenten had a fine family in her own eyes.

This morning, Tenten was meeting with her closest family: Lee, Neji, and Gai. Lee and Neji had always been the best brothers she could wish for, pushing her to be her best. And as weird as Gai was, he was an amazing father figure for her. For some reason, she could never find it in her heart to place someone in the spot of her mother. She had lived with many different nurses through her childhood, but none could ever be called "Mom."

Tenten arrived at the training spot to find everything in perfect order. Neji was meditating, Lee was beating the living daylights out of a tree and Gai was arguing with Kakashi as he desperately attempted to walk away. Slowly the team's sensai trudged back to the grounds. The three students gathered around, knowing there was an upcoming announcement.

"Hokage-sama has requested that the three of you take on a dangerous mission. Sadly, (Insert huge chibi teary eyes) I will not be able to attend since I have a mission with my rival," Gai explained.

"We will do our best and make you proud Gai-sensai!!" Lee returned.

"LEE!!!"

"GAI-SENSAI!!!"

"LEE!!!!!"

-hug with the crashing waves and sudden sunset at 8 in the morning-

"I really wish they wouldn't do that," Tenten muttered while Neji just looked down and shook his head in shame.

Gai left his students with a description of their mission and followed the path Kakashi had taken just minutes before. The mission was A-ranked and involved tracking and taking out a pair of murderers who seemed to be killing just for the fun of killing. The mission was dangerous, but the three could handle it. They had grown a lot since their genin days. They were all accomplished Jounin and 17. Well, Neji and Lee were 17; Tenten still had 10 days of being 16. Damn, she hated being the youngest!

The team agreed to meet back at the gates in half an hour after gathering supplies and so the boys could inform their families of their leave. The two never missed saying bye, should any of them not return.

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The group met on time and departed through the forest towards the sand village where the assassins were last seen. The three moved swiftly through the branches highest in the forest. They were highly trained in each their own way. Lee had managed to control his strength and power to a silent movement and was a master with stealth. It was no surprise to anybody that Neji was a master at sheer attack power. Tenten followed her fast-paced weapons and grew a speed all her own.

The three were able to make it all the way to the end of the forest and met with a sea of uni-colored sand. Tenten looked out at the bleak pathless way they would have to travel. Knowing of the fierce sandstorms that flew in and blinded travelers without any notice, and NOT wanting to face them at night, Neji, Lee, and Tenten made camp for the night. Each took to their known tasks without a word: Tenten took to cooking, Neji to find water, and Lee somewhat smoothing out a patch of ground for each of them to attempt to get some sleep on.

After dinner Lee bid the others goodnight and took his spot for first lookout. Neji fell asleep almost instantly, but Tenten lay awake. Lee looked at her eyes and knew her thoughts. Something was telling her that something was going to go wrong. 

"Get some rest now and worry tomorrow," The green-clad boy stated. Tenten nodded and closed her eyes, drifting to sleep.

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The next morning , Lee, Neji, and Tenten left before sunrise to get an early start. They stopped at a small outskirt village in the desert for information on the assassins. The duo had stopped in the town and done what they were known for. The killings were all random and were all on not-too-wealthy ordinary people. They visited the families of those who were attacked and Tenten received only gaping stares from the family members. The team left the village, disappointed that they had no information on where they were now.

"What was that all about?" Tenten asked about the reactions she received. Her teammates could only shrug. The three continued to search as they traveled towards the main village. After a few hours of detours and pointless searching through a mini desert brush forest a short distance from the main gates. As they continued searching until a shriek echoed through the forest. Neji led the way, bolting towards it.

Thanks to amazing luck, the assassins were found. A sand nin's body was slumped on the ground, obviously dead. The assassins wasted no time before attacking the new arrivals. One of the two began with skilled weapon usage and Tenten's eyes shone.

"That one's mine," she announced, more than ready for the weapon battle. The boys backed away instantly and took on the other who seemed to rely on brute destructive force.

All five of the ninja's identities were hidden: Konoha ninjas behind anbu masks and assassins behind high collared cloaks and bamboo hats, Atasuki uniform. Lee used his more than adequate speed and his stealth to keep the enemy distracted so Neji could get into position for 132 strikes- the kill.

In an instant Lee's attacks ceased and Neji took over with his own attack. The assassin used the close range attack as a chance to lodge two poison-dipped kunai's into Neji's flesh. If he was going down he was going to try and take the Konoha ninja with him. Jyuuken took effect and immobilized the man before he fell into a heap.

Tenten and her opponent were having a battle of sheer steel. Sparks flew with the intense katana fight and the force the two blades had. The enemy aimed for Tenten's legs but she jumped and used her own blade to pin the enemy's to the ground.

The Atasuki warrior used the leverage to kick upwards towards Tenten's face, but the kunoichi dodged fast enough so the kick just clipped the Anbu mask from her face and knocked it off. The cloaked assassin halted instantly and Tenten took the hesitation as an opportunity to lodge her blade through the enemy's shoulder.

Tenten relieved the enemy of her weapon and held the blade over the enemy's heart. Wanting to see who she would kill, Tenten knocked off the bamboo hat, but froze when long brown hair fell from its tucked up position. Tenten stared into the woman's eyes and saw an older version of herself. The same brown eyes and the same fire behind the. The same shock and the same person.

"TENTEN!" Lee's voice broke the stare. "Itachi's coming! Neji's hurt and we can't take him"

Tenten's eyes hovered on the woman before she turned and took off after her teammates. Lee saw her coming and slung Neji's arm over his shoulder to get him out of there and started leaving, knowing Tenten would follow.

A man's figure darted between Tenten and her teammates, the fallen assassin from before, clutching to last minutes of life and not wanting to let this battle be only one sided. Tenten prepared to attack him but didn't need to as the sandy ground beneath her made a wall between them and completely covered the man. Tenten looked up and saw the three sand siblings. Temari nodded for her to follow.

"Come on, you wont be any help dead" She said. The three had called for the mission. Even after stopping war with the other nations and gaining a new Kazekage, Suna was still young and their police force was small and weak. They needed the assistance and it was well appreciated. Tenten nodded and with one last glance at the woman back on the bloody patch of ground took off, speeding up to meet her teammates.


	2. Confrontation

This is me, NOT owning Naruto. If I did, Shikamaru would get off his lazy ass and take Hinata out to dinner. . . even if she passed out when he asked.

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Tenten awoke the next morning in a soft bed provided for in the Kazekage's name, She woke with a start, feeling another presence in her temporary chamber. Her honey eyes met pale blue ones as she nearly leapt out of her bed in shock.

"Kazekage-sama!" she yelped, holding a hand over her heart to slow the beating before it jumped right through her ribcage.

"Don't call me that," the ninja requested in an emotionless voice that sent shivers down nerve endings on her spine that she didn't know existed.

"I'm sorry. . . um—Gaara-san," she awkwardly said. "Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?"

Gaara tilted his head to the side quizzically gazing at her. Tenten pulled her gaze away and suddenly found the floral print on her blanket to be extremely interesting.

"You were sleeping," Gaara said, avoiding Tenten's question.

"Yes, yes I was, and you, you were watching me. Why?" Tenten posed her question again. She was quite the stubborn kunoichi.

"What's it like?" Either Gaara didn't understand that you normally answer questions, or just didn't care to.

"It's unique. I can't really describe it. Can't you sleep now that you've lost your—um burden?" Tenten pressed against his closed box of secrets. She knew she was treading on hot coals.

"I've trained myself to never sleep. You don't just forget easily," Gaara hissed, his voice hinting at irritation. Tenten had been planning to ask again why he was there, but the malice growing in his tone shut her up.

"Oh," was all the girl could manage.

"Get ready and meet in the dining hall downstairs. We need to discuss what happened to you yesterday," Gaara said in a blatant tone. Tenten nodded dumbly and the Kazekage left.

Tenten stood and moved slowly about her bed to her bag. She dressed at a snail's pace and took extra time doing her hair. She deeply dreaded the meeting, wondering how awkward it would be when they brought up the Atatsuki woman.

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The woman was absolutely livid. She wrapped her wounds roughly and not very neatly, not caring about the condition with which they were dressed. She was seething. The object that she was furious with soon entered the room.

"How dare you lie to me like that?!" the enraged woman yelled at Uchiha Itachi. "Don't think for a second I don't know who that was. You told me she was dead and you know damn well that that's the only reason I joined—" She was cut off by a pair of blood red Sharingan eyes glaring into her own eyes.

"Don't you forget who you are talking to. It was a fluke. You will do what you were assigned to do by Leader," Itachi instructed the woman. His eyes flashed evil as he dared her to protest. "If you don't, I will personally take the mission, and you won't want that," he threatened her before turning, whipping his cloak around him as he left in a flurry.

The woman held her head in her hands, knowing he was right about her not wanting him to have to do her job for her. She had to find a way out.

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Lee was already waiting with the Sand Siblings around the large mahogany table downstairs when Tenten finally arrived.

"Way to take your sweet time. I didn't peg you as such a girly girl to take eons to get dressed," Temari commented, knowing fully well that Tenten was anything BUT girly but wanting to tease her nonetheless.

"Since we're all here, can we get started?" Kankuro asked as he impatiently tapped his fingers against the wood.

"Where's Neji?" Tenten asked, thinking that he had just stepped out of the room for a second and they would start when he returned.

"Getting poison sucked out of him. He won't be joining us this morning, but should be fine by lunch," Temari answered her simply as if it was as ordinary as saying that he had gone to get milk at the super market.

"Begin," Gaara commanded so easily as four sets of eyes fell upon Tenten and she suddenly felt very small.

"I have nothing to tell you. I know nothing more than the rest of you," Tenten spoke very softly and looked at her hands as she wound her fingers together.

"Like hell you don't. Why did you hesitate? She was a member of Atatsuki and you let her leave there alive. Are you going to keep messing up like that or are you going to help us?" Temari snapped at the younger girl.

"You really need to just shut the hell up, damnit," Tenten felt the words fall out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying.

"I've never seen her before in my life, but she looked just like me and might be the only link to a past that I never got the privilege of learning—my past. Maybe you should back off and realize that I didn't screw up. She was just as shocked to see me as I was to see her. What would you have done if it was you looking at the person you think could be your own damn mother?!" Tenten shouted at the blonde, standing up and slamming her hands on the table when she was done. (A/n Suck that Temari).

She met three very shocked pairs of eyes and one very amused one.

"I-I would. . ." Temari didn't seem to know exactly what to say. She huffed in a very childlike manner and grumpily announced that she had something else to do before storming out of the room. Tenten retook her seat. She rested her elbow on the table and held her head in her hand.

"We can attempt to apprehend the woman to question her as you desire, but should that fail, we must eliminate her and I can't have you hesitating. Do you understand?" Gaara spoke again. Tenten nodded and assured him with a "yes sir" and he dismissed them all.

Lee and Tenten left together to go see how Neji was holding up. On the way, Lee spoke for the first time all morning.

"Tenten, you don't have to be afraid," he assured her. "We aren't mad at you."

"I'm not afraid," Tenten attempted, but her best friend could feel her lie. "Ok, maybe a little. Thanks Lee." Tenten finished with a smile (A/n Aww, everyone loves Lee! But Lee Tenten is nasty and not happening here). Kankuro approached the pair.

"Nice one back there," he congratulated Tenten with a slap to the shoulder. "That woman could use a few more of those to set her straight." He said before speeding up to go wherever he was headed before stopping to talk to Tenten.

Tenten rubbed her shoulder with a wince.

"Boys are dumb," she announced simply as she stepped into Neji's room as Lee held open the door for her. Lee only shook his head and ignored the shot at his gender.

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Please don't have any heart attacks on me. 11 months isn't too long to wait before posting again, right? Don't hate me! –hides-

Lots of Love

Tenten


	3. Alley

Well, here's a little Christmas present to everybody who celebrates it! It's under 11 months this time (even though I did the math and it was only 10 and a half months). Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did, Kyuubi wouldn't be evil. He'd be cute and cuddly and come in stuffed animal form.

Neji sat up as soon as his door opened. He hated bed rest as much as his hyperactive green-clad teammate, but was just more poised about his dislike. Neji knew his female teammate best of anybody in her life and chose to leave her hesitation in the fight out of their conversation.

"Can I leave yet?" Were the first words out of Neji's mouth, annoyed at his forced bedridden state. Tenten had no idea to the answer, but was so relieved in the pleasant expression gracing Neji's features that she couldn't help herself but grant him freedom.

"I don't see why not. It was a poison, now it's gone and not coming back. We've got time off today because you're 'resting' so lets go exploring," Tenten suggested and watched as Lee's face lit up with the possibility of team-bonding, as if there was anything the three didn't know about each other.

Neji was eager to agree and Lee and Tenten waited outside his room as he got up and dressed. He met them in under a minute and the three left the mansion. They kept silent until past the doors, as if they were three little kids sneaking out of the house from their parents. Tenten stopped the others just outside the gate.

"We stick out like sore thumbs. Let me have your headbands," she suggested, holding out her hand after having taken off her own. The boys presented her with their garments, Neji having his bandages in place over the seal.

"The Kazekage doesn't need his people to panic at the sight of Konoha ninjas," Tenten explained. "We should try to fit in more, which means a henge for Neji and a change of clothes for you, Lee," Tenten instructed.

"If we have to change then you have to leave some weapons behind. Nobody's going to believe you're a civilian with all that steel on your body. Go drop some off," Neji told Tenten after he had changed his eyes to a light brown that was almost gold.

"Do I have to?" Tenten pouted, but Neji's glare told her yes, and she went back into the house with Lee for a quick change. Tenten ditched her ninja attire for pants and a tee-shirt and put her hair in a ponytail. Lee was forced to wear some of the insane clothes that come in more than one piece that his teammates had given him for his last birthday.

After a multitude of delays, the three were off again into the sandy village. By now, their stomachs were loudly grumbling and they stopped in for a little lunch in a café in a more run-down part of the city. They chose to eat outside when they found the inside too crowded for breathing room.

Tenten's head jerked up at the sound of a cat's cry as it was chased by three rowdy boys. The weapons' mistress's heart went out to the furry little being and she leapt off her seat in peruse of the boys. Her teammates simply shook their heads at her impulsive behavior. They blamed it on her being a girl.

The boys had scattered a distance after they realized that they were being followed so Tenten ended up following the cat into an alley way to make sure she was alright. Tenten skidded to a stop and proceeded slowly when she found the thin space between the buildings to be a barren dead end. The feline had literally vanished into the brick walls.

Tenten cooed and whispered for the cat, but it was absolutely gone without a trace. Tenten even looked up in confusion and found the sky to be a sheet of sand. Those sandstorms really did just roll in out of nothing. Looking back at the opening of the alley, she found the street to be invisible past the flurry of sand. Tenten was lucky in her little spot of refuge; very little sand was able to attack her so deep in such a narrow opening.

"Tenten," a soft female voice called to her. Tenten jumped at least a foot in the air as she spun around and pressed herself against the opposite wall, trying to get as far as possible from the human image on the solid brick wall.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Tenten requested of the woman from the fight the day before.

"I had to make sure you are who you are," the woman's image replied calmly, her eyes seemed to be trying to memorize Tenten's face. "You look just like I'd imagined you would."

"Again, who the hell are you?" Tenten barked.

"It's better if you didn't know," the picture spoke again. "I'd only disappoint you." The woman seemed to reach forward and the image literally lifted off the wall in a 3D form as the woman's hand stretched towards Tenten. Tenten moved to get out of the alley way, but the woman's arm had stretched to form a metallic liquid wall between Tenten and her exit. Tenten slashed at the formation but nothing damaged it. Whatever holes were made healed before the weapon could even be retracted.

Slowly, the wall backed Tenten towards the back of the alley.

"I'm sorry to do this. It's not what I wanted, but I'm saving you. It's for the best You have to believe me," the voice spoke, but the image was no longer visible. The only thing in the alley with Tenten was the sheet that was pressing her against the brick wall behind her, pinning her still and slowly crushing the life from her. As a last hope, Tenten screamed at the top of her lungs, a shrill sound that had to have been heard even over the raging sandstorm enveloping the city.

As abruptly as it had appeared, the liquid was gone, a simple puddle left in the sand. Tenten fell to her knees with the sudden loss of support. She felt a hand grasp her upper arm as she was hoisted to her feet.

"What the hell happened?" Kankuro's voice reached her ears.

"It was her, from yesterday. I-wait, where did she go?" Tenten said, looking up and around. The only person besides her and Kankuro was Gaara at the end of the alley.

"We've got to get back to the house. A sandstorm as badly as this one isn't meant to be taken lightly. Come on," Kankuro had to emphasize as he continued to support her weight. Tenten took to her own feet a little wobbly, but followed Kankuro as he dashed towards Gaara who was waiting just outside the opening.

Kankuro had been right. The storm was a lot worse than it had seemed as sand pelted the trio from every direction and wind was loud and howling and only seemed to be getting worse.

"Your teammates are back at the house already. They sent us to find you after you didn't come back when the storm started," Kankuro yelled over the storm. Tenten only nodded, afraid to speak back and open her mouth and get it full of sand. She held her hand over her mouth, but it didn't do much in purifying the air and she was breathing in a lot more sand than any body should take in.

The girl suddenly found a heavy weight on her shoulders as a jacket was deposited there, with a high collar to protect most of her face from the raging storm. She looked wide-eyed over at Gaara who was suddenly coat-less. He gave her a glare, telling her to not even bring it up. Tenten brought her gaze back to the ground as the three picked up pace and were soon back at the house.

As soon as they had closed the large doors and found refuge from the storm, Tenten moved to take off the coat to return it, but the Kazekage had disappeared.

"Um, Gaara?" Tenten asked, looking around the corner, but finding no sight of him.

"He does that. Don't worry about it," Kankuro assured her. "It's nothing personal. I'd keep the jacket though. You probably don't have one that is knit tightly enough to keep out the sand and seeing as you're getting yourself into messes of trouble all the time, you could use all the extra protection you can get."

Tenten glared at the cat-boy with a ferocity that he didn't know she had.

"Hey, don't get mad at me. It's the truth," Kankuro said as he held up his hands defensively. "I'm taking off. I'd go tell your teammates that you're alive, if I were you. We'll have another meeting after dinner to talk about your visitor back there. Prepare yourself."

Tenten nodded and Kankuro left in the opposite direction of her. She headed towards Neji's room where her boys would be waiting for news on her. On the way she passed Temari who "accidentally" got too close and shoved a rough shoulder into Tenten's. Tenten simply whipped around and barked that the girl should get some manners before disappearing from her sight around a corner.

For the second time that day, her hand was on her shoulder. It had the worst luck with getting beat up.

--

It's short and it's kind of choppy. I don't really like how it came out, but I guess that this is just sort of a filler chapter. I know that Tenten's having some moments with Kankuro, Neji and Gaara, but this isn't going to be a story with her pairing. Mostly it's going to be how Tenten is able to change the four guys around her (Kankuro, Neji, Gaara and Lee) and tell off a certain bitchy Kunoichi on the way (coughTemaricough). I might redo this chapter later, but I wanted to update something for Christmas and this is the only thing that I had an idea for.

Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it, and to those who don't. Why? BECAUSE I CAN.

Lots of Love

Tenten


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